Kuffour says he merits African soccer crown

SEGOU, Mali, Jan 20 -- Bayern Munich solid-as-a-rock defender Sammy Osei Kuffour declared here Sunday he has done enough to be crowned the best player in Africa for the past year.

"This is the time to win it (the award). I have worked so hard, I have been very consistent and I have had a brilliant season, winning everything - the European Champions League, the Bundesliga and the World Clubs' Cup. I also scored the goal that won Bayern the world title," he told AFP. The award ceremony for the continent's top individual prize is billed to take place later this year, Confederation of African Football Association (CAF) informed AFP.

However, it will be tough going for the 25-year-old Kuffour to upstage two of Africa's top strikers, El Hadji Diouf of Senegal and Samuel Eto'o from Cameroon, for the award.

"I know everyone will say he deserves the award," he said.

"Both Diouf and Eto are good players and have done very well recently, no doubt. But on consistency and performance I deserve it."

It is even tougher for Kuffour as the last time a defensive player won Africa's Golden Ball was 16 years ago with the honour going to Morocco's goalkeeper Badou Zaki.

"The award cannot be based on where you play on the pitch but how well you're playing. Matthias Sammer was a defender and yet he won the European Player Award in 1996.

"So also Paolo Maldini while my teammate at Bayern, Oliver Kahn, who is a goalkeeper, has not stopped winning awards."

The one-time shoeshine boy already knows who he will specially dedicate the award to should he win.

"I will dedicate it to all the street kids in Africa because I was once one of them," he said.

"It will also be to the memory of those who lost their lives at the Accra Sport Stadium last year."

"Sammy" has often been compared to Abedi Pele, the last Ghanaian star to be named the best on the continent in 1993.

"Everyone has his own time. Before Abedi there was Razak, Polo and the rest. This is the time for other players. But I don't see myself as an individual. I'm part of a team first and foremost," he insisted.

Like Pele though, he said he plays with the heart because "this is my job and I don't have any other one. So when I am on the pitch I give everything".